


A Loyal Stray

by GloriousGoblinQueen



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Original Mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22597693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriousGoblinQueen/pseuds/GloriousGoblinQueen
Summary: Miris, a minor goddess of stray cats, watches over those under her protection from the comfort of her small shrine. One day, she's visited by Jonah, who seeks to become a priest of hers but must receive a blessing from her personally to do so.
Relationships: (Minor) God/Their Favored Human (Original Work)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	A Loyal Stray

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DesertVixen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/gifts).



> I'd like to thank ArisTGD for looking over things and helping me improve. DesertVixen, hope you enjoy it!

Miris sat on the edge of her scrying pool, keeping an eye on a group of her charges as usual. This one happened to be a calico mother and her kittens living in the streets. They were getting plenty of food and water from whatever people stopped by, fortunately, but there was nothing quite like having the goddess of stray cats herself on your side. A good many little furry lives had been saved thanks to her intervention. Some of the other gods, those higher up in the pantheon and with more followers than she'd had even in her glory days, had mocked her. They hadn't seen the value in her or what she did, deeming her an afterthought. Still, she'd been thankful for those who believed in her purpose and held her up as an equal. One goddess in particular, who watched over all animals with her brother, had always been particularly thankful for her.

"I know it's my job -- well, mine and my brother's, but knowing you look after the little ones too is a relief," Sahara had said. Miris had nearly missed what Sahara said, she was so star-struck by the older goddess even speaking to her.

She sighed and dragged her hand through the scrying pool's water, changing the view. Hers was a nearly thankless job, though it hadn't always been that way. Once upon a time, people adored felines, strays and pets alike. With such adoration came protectiveness, and she could still recall how her ears would ring with prayers for all cats, whether owned by a human or not. But those days were gone now; cats had gradually been usurped by other animals in the hearts of man, leaving them at the mercy of a few. As for Miris, the few prayers she still received stood out in the encroaching quiet, heartfelt and lonely.

Miris looked up, startled, by the sound of someone crashing through the entrance of her shrine. The sounds of the remains of various offerings being knocked over could be heard from where she was in her inner sanctum. Turning back to her pool, she flicked her hand through it and the view changed. Now, it showed a young man wandering around the antechamber of her shrine. The area had been used by her devotees and others seeking her blessings to pray in olden days. The occasional visitor still came by, but all that was left was largely old gifts (and dust when she couldn't be bothered to clean). The old antechamber was more or less itself a shrine to Miris' former glory.

She leaned in towards her scrying pool to get a better look at the stranger. _It can't be_ , she thought, eyes widening. She'd seen that face before, younger, on a boy who used to care for the strays that hung around his orphanage. That alone had put him in her good graces. And when he'd gotten too old for the orphanage and had to muddle through a period of homelessness but still managed to offer what little he could to the stray cats he saw on the streets, well. Miris had few favorites among mankind, but that boy, a man now, was one of them. Though it hadn't been within her domain, she'd managed to spare him a few favors now and then in secrecy as thanks for his diligence and care towards the cats he helped. The same gods who'd ridiculed her were suddenly very interested in Miris stepping out of her place in such a way, but she didn't care. The boy, Jonah, was more than worthy of whatever grace she could offer him.

She watched the young man stumble around, unfamiliar with the building. Vines had begun to overtake the outside of the shrine, blocking some of the sunlight from reaching inside. She could see just fine, and thus saw no need to cull the vines, but the poor man had no such luck. Miris chuckled, and wondered why he was even there in the first place. She doubted he was there to pray, since most folks who still came to her shrine had the sense to stay close to the entrance. Besides, Jonah had never come to her shrine to pray before, always preferring to do so in the privacy of whatever home he had at the time. It then occurred to her that he might be seeking entry into her priesthood. _Even more unlikely_ , she thought. While she still had priests and priestesses, their numbers were dwindling, and it had been ages since anyone had sought entry.

Seeing a familiar face after so long felt good, but she was curious as to why he'd shown up, or even how he'd found her shrine in the first place. She watched him stop a ways outside the entrance to her sanctum and drop to his knees. He pressed his hands to the floor and his forehead to his hands and spoke.

"O Miris, goddess and protector of the strays! I came seeking entry into your band of priests, that I may serve you for the rest of my days!"

The goddess' eyebrows rose; it seemed he _was_ there to become one of her servants. A million thoughts about what his motivations were raced across her mind. The age of the cat was clearly over, so why he wanted to be one of her priests and dedicate so much time to strays was a mystery. Of course, she could peer into his mind to find the reason...

No, it would be far more entertaining to let him work. See how he would justify himself.

Miris leaned back on her hands and let him wait. She knew the rules well; he would have to stay there, prostrated on the hard floor, until she either gave permission to enter her inner sanctum or dismissed him. If he got up before she spoke, he would never be allowed to seek the priesthood again, and might even invite a small curse upon himself for his disrespect (though she hesitated at the thought of being so cruel). She could, technically, make him stay there all day. For days, even. Luckily for him, Miris loathed the idea of a human dying in her shrine.

"You may enter the Inner Sanctum," she spoke. Her voice rang out through the shrine, hopefully drilling her authority into the young acolyte.

Miris dismissed the image in her scrying pool and turned to face the entrance of her sanctum.

 _Hm_ , she thought. _Not bad at all. You turned out rather well, Jonah._

The young hopeful had entered the sanctum and knelt again several feet away from her. Like many others in his village, he was tawny-skinned and had a head full of thick, black curls. Miris figured he'd cut them short upon pledging, as was the custom for anyone seeking to become one of her priests. Were she to accept him, he would be allowed to grow his hair long again. He was lean but finely muscled; Miris wondered if he did any kind of farm work, or if he had the luxury of a less laborious occupation. To keep her "help" under the radar, she hadn't been able to keep as close an eye on him as she'd wanted beyond his childhood. There was so much she had yet to know about him now.

"Stand," Miris commanded. The young man stood, presenting himself for the goddess's perusal.

She stood from her seat as well and approached him. Being roughly eight feet tall in this form, Miris towered over him. If he was at all intimidated by that, he showed no sign of it, instead focusing on keeping his eyes forward. Slowly she circled him, taking in the details of his face and form. His shoulders were neither too broad nor too narrow, and she let herself be momentarily distracted by the sheen of sweat on his naked back. All he wore was a short skirt of cowhide, barely down to his knees, and Miris thought gleefully of the various rituals where he would wear even less as a priest.

Miris returned to stand before him. "Your name?" she remembered to ask.

"Jonah."

She looked him in the eyes, enchanted by their hazel color.

"You come offering yourself as one of my priests, yes? If so, then you must know there are trials of faith and endurance to pass as well." Those wishing to enter Miris' cult knew that after the initial vetting came the Trials of Fidelity and Endurance, but the details thereof were only known to those who went through them. Those who passed were forbidden to discuss them with anyone outside the cult. Those who failed couldn't speak of them at all. "Are you prepared to earn my favor, Jonah?" she asked.

Jonah nodded once and replied, "yes, my Lady."

She moved to stand behind him and covered his eyes. From her hands fell a length of dark silk, and she tied it in back of his head, blinding him. Miris' hands then wrapped loosely around his throat, and she left a modest collar there. A leash was soon fastened to it. Jonah had no idea, but for the next month Miris intended on making him her beloved pet. Such a trial was reserved for only those pledges she detected the purest of loyalty from, and Jonah was no exception. He shivered lightly, but didn't flinch as Miris brushed her knuckles down his arm in admiration.

"Then let us begin," she whispered in his ear.


End file.
